A Different View
by Keen Drallin
Summary: A retelling of EVA, beginning shortly before the Tenth Angel.
1. Revelations

A Different View

By Keen Drallin

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by GAINAX. I am making no money from this and am writing entirely for personal enjoyment.

Chapter 1 - Revelations

'Can't those two get along for even five minutes?' Misato wondered, inwardly sighing at the immature behavior of her two charges. Both seemed determined to prove yet again the accuracy of their designation; Children.

Misato, Ritsuko, and the three pilots were assembled in the test plug monitoring room. The Children had just taken a harmonics test, and were now only waiting for the blonde scientist to tell them if they could go.

They could usually head to the changing rooms after testing, but today there was some kind of computer error and their results wouldn't display correctly. There had been no problem during the test itself, but some kind of bug had popped up the moment the test plugs had unsealed. If Ritsuko couldn't fix the problem, the Children would have to re-test tomorrow.

Asuka took this opportunity to go into yet another one of her infamous rants; this one concerning how they were wasting her valuable time. She had even tried to get Shinji and Rei to back her up.

Rei had glanced at her fellow pilot briefly, then looked away. As usual, the blue-haired girl chose to not get involved in the Second Child's arguments.

The Third Child seemed to have no such qualms, telling Asuka to stop being so damn impatient. The Second Child hadn't taken it too well.

They'd been fighting for ten minutes now, with both parties dredging up even the most immature and mundane facts to support their arguments. But despite the seeming focus both had on their verbal conflict, Misato couldn't help but notice that the eyes of both pilots kept straying to the clock on the wall.

Both of them had been acting a little funny all day, though. Misato had initially written it off as something school related, but neither one had mentioned that anything was up. That in itself was unusual.

If something was bugging Asuka, she would usually spend upwards of an hour complaining about it. Shinji was more reserved, but he was slowly opening up and speaking his mind more.

The purple haired woman sighed. While their arguing today was pretty bad, it wasn't that much worse than the usual. Their fighting seemed to be getting more and more intense, and Misato couldn't figure out why.

NERV's Operations Director was actually considering sending both of her charges for psychiatric evaluation. Neither pilot would like it, but at least it might help NERV figure out what was wrong with them.

Misato had been toying with the idea for a while now, but she'd never had sufficient justification; their grades in school were above average, they did their chores without serious complaint, and their synch ratios couldn't be better.

Asuka's rates had actually gone up, against their expectations. NERV had always believed her scores wouldn't increase once she arrived in Tokyo-3, thinking that all the time she spent training in Germany would have brought her synch-ratio to its limit.

But she had proven them wrong. For a while now, her scores had been going up slowly but steadily. Asuka, being Asuka, appeared to take great pleasure in lording this over her fellow pilots. The fact that neither really cared didn't seem to deter her in the slightest.

Shinji's synch ratio was also rising, only much faster in his case. This was hardly unexpected, though; since he'd joined NERV, his synch and harmonics ratios had been gradually rising to the levels of the other pilots. Now, though, his scores would soon match Rei's. And if they continued to rise at this rate, he would soon match... and exceed... Asuka's.

Misato was not looking forward to that day. She would probably have to call in NERV security just to keep Asuka from physically attacking the Third Child.

Shinji and Asuka had been asked, both separately and individually, if they knew of anything that could cause their scores to rise like that. Every time, they had said they didn't know.

Ritsuko still thought that the two volatile teenagers were lying, but Misato couldn't agree with her old college friend on this one.

She knew her charges weren't saints, but she also knew that neither one could really keep a secret from her. Sure, Asuka might be able to fool her once in a while, but not on anything major. And Shinji? He couldn't even lie about his homework being done without blushing.

Misato glanced at her watch and frowned. The weekly staff meeting was in less than an hour, her charges wouldn't stop bickering, and it had really just been a long day. "Are you almost done, Ritsuko?"

The doctor clicked a few last keys, then glanced at her old friend. "I'm finished."

To the pilots, she said "You three don't have to come back tomorrow."

Rei nodded calmly and turned to leave the room. Shinji and Asuka finally looked up from their arguing at the scientist's announcement.

"It's about time!" Asuka said impatiently, "This pathetic little excuse for a pilot was beginning to get on my nerves!"

"I've killed more Angels than you have!" Shinji replied indignantly.

"Only because I wasn't here yet!" Asuka retorted, "If I was, you would have been just sitting back and watching, in awe of my incredible piloting skills!"

Shinji frowned, then opened his mouth to refute that point.

"Both of you, get out of here now!" Ritsuko said, interrupting their bickering. She didn't share Misato's concerns about their mental states, but it had been a long day, and they were really starting to get on her nerves.

Asuka laughed and started heading for the door. "See, Third Child? Even the people of NERV are unable to tolerate being in my god-like presence."

"More like they can't stand your awful personality." Shinji muttered, just loud enough for Asuka to hear.

She turned to glare at him, then stomped off in the direction of the changing rooms.

Shinji frowned and followed her out, now looking strangely determined. Misato couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind right now.

"Their fighting seems to be getting worse." Ritsuko idly commented.

Misato chuckled dryly. "Well, at least now my only worry is that the two might try and kill each other."

Ritsuko turned to look at her. "You thought something else might happen?" Her eyes were narrowed slightly, but Misato didn't notice, lost in thought.

Misato smiled slightly. "I was concerned for a while about something 'improper' happening between the two, what with all the time they spend together at home. They are teenagers, after all. I actually talked to them about it when Asuka first moved in."

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "How did they take it?"

Misato grinned. "Shinji's face was bright red the whole time. Asuka tried to act like it didn't concern her, but she was blushing pretty heavily herself. They both looked like they wanted to crawl into a hole and die."

Ritsuko smirked. "Are you so sure that nothing ever happened, though? They _are_ teenagers."

Misato looked incredulous. "Can you actually picture something like that? If Shinji tried anything at all, I'm pretty sure Asuka would send him to the hospital. And I somehow doubt that Asuka would do anything with 'the idiot', as she refers to him."

Ritsuko laughed and changed the subject. "Ready for the meeting?"

Misato sighed. "Yeah. I just hope Asuka doesn't kill Shinji before I get home."

"Shall I order Section-2 to increase surveillance?" Ritsuko asked dryly.

Misato chuckled. "Want to get a cup of coffee before the meeting?"

Ritsuko thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Why not?"

---

Shinji and Asuka stood in front of an office door, now dressed in their casual clothes. The staff meeting started in less than half an hour, so the two pilots had decided that now was the best time to do this.

"I didn't expect to be this nervous," Shinji said, trying to keep the mood as light

as possible.

"You expected it to be a walk in the park?" Asuka asked sarcastically.

Shinji blushed slightly at his roommate's caustic tone of voice, but he repressed the urge to apologize. He knew that doing so could only make the situation worse.

Asuka could see his internal struggle and mentally sighed. She shot him an apologetic glance, but said nothing. Somehow, words only seemed to mess things up.

Shinji hardly noticed the look Asuka gave him, deep in contemplation. His thoughts were very confused at the moment; what he thought he'd always wanted versus what he'd never really thought about until recently. 'Ten years,' he thought distantly. 'It's been ten years since...'

Shinji closed his eyes and sighed. These thoughts were more than familiar to him, but somehow that didn't make them any more comforting. If anything, the familiarity only made the thoughts worse, frequent visitors that just wouldn't go away.

It had been a decade of pain, fear, and loneliness. Even after he arrived in Tokyo-3, nothing had really changed. He'd hoped... prayed... that it might, but it hadn't. If anything, it had actually gotten worse.

Before, he'd always been able to say that it was for a good cause, that it was for the protection of all mankind. Now... he knew the truth; his father just didn't care. Ten years... a decade... almost Shinji's entire life... all for nothing. Ever since his mother died...

He thought briefly of his mother, but even those memories were mostly just hazy dreams. He couldn't even remember what she looked like, just that she'd been very kind. 'What would you say about this, mother? What would you think?'

Despite the tense atmosphere hanging in the air like a funeral shroud, the incongruity of the thought made him smile.

Asuka quirked an eyebrow. "Something you care to share, Third Child?"

Shinji's smile faded, but he wasn't as tense as he'd been moments ago. "It's nothing."

"I'll bet," Asuka said with a frown. There was another moment of silence, the tension almost palpable.

The two young saviors of the world traded a reassuring glance, then Shinji nodded. "I guess it's time," he said quietly.

Asuka nodded in agreement, but she couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face, a small feral expression of a demon out for blood.

For despite herself, Asuka was beginning to feel a kind of joy. The same power that sang through her blood during combat, the same aspect of herself that would sooner die than admit defeat, all that made her who she was... It was starting to fill her with the same heady rush she felt during battle, an ancient call to arms that she'd never been able to refuse.

Their adversary this time was no Angel, and this would not be to the death, but this somehow seemed more important than any battle she'd ever fought inside Unit-02.

This time, she would have no sixty-meter weapon of mass destruction at her command. She would have no AT-Field to protect her.

This would be a contest of words alone, a clashing of wills that would either change everything or change nothing. "Let's do this."

Shinji glanced over at the Second Child, then he nodded, drawing confidence from Asuka's seemingly limitless supply. He took a deep breath, then raised his hand to knock on the door.

---

Misato and Ritsuko were walking down a corridor, heading towards the conference room. Their coffee break had worked its usual magic; the two old college friends felt up for anything their commander could throw at them.

"Are you sure that it won't be a problem?" The purple haired woman asked.

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes. From what I've been able to gather, it was almost definitely an isolated incident."

Misato was unsure of the more technical aspects of the earlier computer problem, but she was generally comfortable placing her trust in Ritsuko in matters such as these. She did have a few questions, though.

Before she could ask them, however, her attention was captured by the sight in front of her. She did a double-take, but her eyes hadn't deceived her the first time.

Sure enough, her two charges were walking down the corridor towards her. That in itself was strange; Shinji and Asuka usually went right home after harmonics tests.

And even if they stayed late for some reason, what could they possibly be doing in this part of headquarters? The only things in this section were conference rooms and upper-level offices.

Even more than their presence here, there seemed to be something strange about them. After a moment, Misato realized just what it was.

When she'd last seen them, they'd both been practically radiating tension. Asuka had looked about ready to just snap and kill somebody, and Shinji hadn't really been that far behind.

Now, they both looked almost... giddy; the two were practically floating on air.

Misato could see that Ritsuko noticed the change as well, but the blonde woman stayed silent.

The two pilots stopped in front of their superiors, expressions of almost childish delight on their faces.

"What are you two still doing here? Misato asked, trying to sound casual.

Shinji's near-cherubic expression faded slightly, but he still looked happier than Misato could recall seeing on any more than a handful of occasions. "Nothing in particular."

Asuka nodded in agreement. "Yep, nothing at all," she said, her face a picture of perfect innocence.

Misato blinked. Now she knew something was up. "Okay. Well, um... are you two headed back to the apartment now?"

The two pilots traded a brief glance. What was in that expression Misato couldn't quite tell, but whatever it was, she'd never seen it in her two charges before. It wasn't bad, but it was... strange.

"Yeah," Asuka said, "we're heading home." Shinji nodded in agreement.

Misato could tell that there was definitely some kind of hidden meaning, but she didn't think it was really worth the effort right now of looking for it. A brief glance at her watch told her that the meeting started in less than ten minutes, so she had to cut this short.

"I should be home in a couple of hours. Until then... just don't kill each other, okay?" She asked, smiling slightly. What happened next took her completely by surprise.

Asuka turned to her fellow pilot, an oddly serious expression on her face. "Shinji," she asked solemnly, "can I kill you?"

Shinji seemed to ponder this question for a moment, then he responded, his voice equally solemn. "Only if you ask nicely."

At this, both Children started giggling. After a moment, they were laughing hysterically, leaning against the wall to keep themselves from falling down.

Misato and Ritsuko watched, both wide-eyed. The purple haired woman glanced over at her friend, her expression asking silently, 'Is this actually happening?' Ritsuko nodded, but she looked completely unable to explain just what was going on.

These two women had both done things that most could only dream of. Misato had seen Hell first-hand, the only person to survive the events of fifteen years ago. Now, she poured her heart and soul into her job, dedicated to utterly destroying the Angels. Ritsuko's past wasn't quite as traumatizing, but she also gave her all to prevent the destruction of mankind.

Together, the two women had been instrumental in the defense against the Angels; a task the average person would have proved too weak to handle. Yet with all they'd seen... all they'd done... all they could do was stare wide-eyed as the two teenage world saviors seemed to be regressing back to when they'd been children in spirit and not just in name.

Had Misato not been caught flat-footed by the scene, she would have realized that it was truly a heart-warming scene, her far-too-mature charges actually behaving as she'd always hoped they would.

As it was, though, she could only stare.

After a few more moments of wild laughter on the Children's parts and stupefied awe on the adults', the pilots finally began to compose themselves.

Shinji and Asuka both stood up straight, trying to appear serious. They wiped the tears out of their eyes, chuckled a few last times, and then looked up at the adults. After a brief moment, it was almost as if they'd never cracked up laughing in the first place.

The two adults traded a worried glance. 'What the hell is going on?' Misato wondered, genuinely concerned. Her charges' behavior was beyond strange, even for them.

"Is there something wrong with you two?" Ritsuko asked, her eyes narrowed. The blonde woman had a vague suspicion in the back of her mind, but she dismissed that thought quickly.

"Nope. Couldn't be better." Asuka said, then giggled again. Shinji nodded in agreement, then also resumed giggling.

Misato was beginning to wonder not if they had a problem, but just how serious their problem was. Earlier, they had been fighting like cats and dogs. Now, they both looked as if they'd had a more than liberal dose of Nitrous Oxide. For a brief moment, Misato wondered if this might even be the precursor to some form of mental breakdown. 'That's it,' she decided, 'I am definitely recommending psychiatric evaluation.'

Outwardly, though, she kept a calm expression on her face. "Well, I'll see you two later."

"See you later, Misato, Ritsuko." Shinji replied.

"Yeah," Asuka agreed, "Later." The two pilots traded one last amused glance, then they continued on their way. Misato and Ritsuko turned around to watch them leave, both silent.

Their retreating forms still looked to be almost walking on air. The analytical part of Misato's mind noted that they were walking awfully close together, but she dismissed that observation. It was likely just a side-effect of their strange behavior. "Ritsuko," she asked slowly, "do you have any idea of what the hell just happened?"

The blonde woman took a moment to put her thoughts in order, then shook her head. "I haven't a clue." She said sincerely.

Misato sighed. This was just going to be one of those days.

---

Had NERV's Operations Director been less tense, she would have realized just how boring these staff meetings were truly capable of becoming.

Misato had been the first one to give her report. As Operations Director, she had a fairly impressive scope of duties. What it ultimately came down to, however, was a thirty page recount of the same things she said during the last meeting, and the meeting before that, and the meeting before that, and so on.

If she wasn't in a meeting, she may have laughed out loud. Working at NERV was either incredibly dull or heart poundingly intense; never in-between.

Hyuga, as Misato's assistant, also had a great deal of responsibilities. This meeting, however, his report had been quite similar to his superior's; long andrepetitive.

Maya had proposed a new simulator program for the EVAs. It was quite similar to the ones currently in use, but it used some kind of new programming code that was supposed to be slightly more adaptable for heavy-usage. Ikari had given it provisional approval, pending a full test of its capabilities.

Aoba's report, as always, had been the lightest one. Being only a computer technician, he didn't have quite as many responsibilities as his two

Ritsuko had given both the status of the EVAs and of the pilots' synch ratios. The Evangelions themselves were in peak condition. Rei's synch ratio was exactly the same. Asuka's was up by exactly one half point. Shinji's was up exactly three points. All in all, nothing unexpected.

The blonde woman had also mentioned today's computer problem, labeling it as an isolated incident. The commander hadn't seemed upset by the problem itself, but he had requested a complete report on the topic. Misato knew from experience that Ritsuko would be pulling an all-nighter to get that one done. She didn't know whether to envy or pity her friend's workaholic tendencies.

Kaji had told of a minor embezzling scheme he'd discovered in the accounting department. Some time within the next few days, two thieving clerks would learn just how NERV dealt with untrustworthy employees.

Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki was finishing up the latest changes in the budget; 'just a few' minor cuts. The old man usually looked to be fighting boredom at these meetings, but Misato could have sworn that he'd seemed vaguely amused all throughout this one.

Once all the regular topics were dealt with, Misato decided that now was the time to bring up her earlier concerns. She took a moment to put her thoughts in order, then took a deep breath and spoke up. "Sir, I would like to recommend complete psychiatric evaluations for both the Second and Third Children."

"There is no need for that, major." The commander responded.

Misato frowned. "Sir, they have been arguing more and more often as of late. Yet when I saw them before the meeting, they were both nearly hysterical with laughter. There may be something seriously wrong with them."

"They brought their situation to my attention earlier today," Commander Ikari replied calmly. "There shall be no further hostilities between the two."

Misato's expression was business-like, but she was inwardly quite tense. The fact that her two charges had gone to the commander before her hurt.

Nearly as troubling, though, were her thoughts on why they may have done so in the first place. They should only have consulted NERV's Commander if everyone under him proved unable to solve their problem.

What could her two charges possibly have to say to the commander that they wouldn't say to her? What could Shinji possibly have to say to his father?

Major Katsuragi forced those thoughts aside for now. She could deal with that later, after she found out what was actually going on. No matter what the problem may have been, it was her duty as Operations Director to get all the relevant data first. "What is their situation, sir?"

The commander's response was almost underwhelming in its casualness. "They are engaged to be married."

Misato nodded. That made a lot of sens- "They're what?!" Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that almost everyone else looked as surprised as she felt. Somehow, she couldn't quite blame them.

Ritsuko was the first one to speak up after Misato's rather undignified outburst. "What did you tell them, sir?"

"I informed them that such an occurrence would present no problems."

Misato blinked. He said that? Had their leader finally snapped? "Sir?" She couldn't quite suppress the disbelief in her voice.

The commander's eyes narrowed dangerously behind his amber-tinted lenses. "Did you misunderstand me, major?"

Misato stared at her commanding officer, her face totally blank. She ran through all the possible responses she could give, then she mentally shrugged. "Personally, sir, I'm kind of hoping that I did."

The commander smirked. "Indeed, major." He paused for a second, looking around the table calmly. "Are there any other issues to discuss?"

The entire table looked at the commander, most wondering just how he could be so casual about such a serious topic.

Aoba hesitantly spoke up. "Sir, they're only children."

"They are NERV personnel," the commander corrected. "As such, they are afforded special consideration."

No one argued with that logic.

Misato glanced around briefly, trying to gauge her co-workers' reactions. The three bridge techs still looked mildly disbelieving, but she could see that all three were beginning to think about the full consequences of what the commander had just announced.

Kaji's initial shock was beginning to wear off as well, but he seemed remarkably casual about the whole situation. He looked strangely thoughtful, however.

Ritsuko, as always, seemed not bothered in the least. That surprised Misato. She would have expected the head of Project-E to be more concerned over something that could have such a major effect on the pilots' performances of duty.

'Well,' Misato thought, 'at least now I know why they were acting so strange earlier.'

After a few more moments of silence, the commander nodded curtly. "Very well. This meeting is adjourned."

-End Chapter 1

Author's Notes

That was the revised version of chapter 1 of A Different View. I strongly doubt that I will make any changes to this in the future. This will almost definitely be the last revision of chapter 1.

Chapter 2 will most likely be up again in about two weeks.

As this remains a work of progress, any comments, suggestions, or criticisms are welcome.

Until next time,

-Keen Drallin

Initial draft started 3/16/04

First draft finished 3/29/04

Current draft finished 5/18/04


	2. Acceptance

**A Different View**

by Keen Drallin

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by GAINAX. I am making no money from this story.

Chapter 2 - Acceptance

"Damn Akagi." Asuka muttered, glancing up impatiently at the clock on the far wall.

Sitting next to the fiery redhead on the living room couch, Shinji didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. After a moment, he settled on neither one, simply smiling slightly at the entire situation. It wasn't that wide of a smile, though.

The near-euphoric mood that had gripped the two pilots at Headquarters had begun to fade somewhat not long after they'd gotten home. They'd passed the first test of today, but both pilots were aware that another was coming shortly.

They needed Commander Ikari's official approval, solely because of their ages and just what it was they did for a living, but they really didn't care about his personal opinion. Shinji would have preferred his father's blessing, but he was more than satisfied with just his official approval.

Now that the two pilots had that, they were basically in the clear with their relationship. At least... officially.

Asuka glanced over at her fiancée, eyebrow raised. She was irritated with the whole situation; having hidden it for so long, the computer error that had nearly cost them the chance to confront the commander, the fact that Misato would be home soon... everything.

"What's on your mind this time, Shinji?" Asuka asked. "Is it 'nothing' again?"

Despite her irritation, Asuka's voice wasn't quite as harsh as it had been earlier. It wasn't fair of her to take it out on Shinji, she knew, especially after all that had happened. So rather than the outburst that she wanted, her tone was simply one of curiosity.

Shinji took a moment to put his thoughts in order, then the smile faded even more, becoming almost nonexistent. "It's... nothing."

Shinji winced the moment the words left his mouth, knowing that they weren't what Asuka wanted to hear. "I'm sor-"

"Sorry, I know," Asuka said, sighing in exasperation. She really had to get him to stop doing that some day.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door sliding open. The two pilots both visibly tensed at the sound. 

A moment later, Misato walked into the living room from the kitchen. She nodded curtly to both pilots, then went directly into her bedroom.

Shinji and Asuka traded a nervous glance. This looked to be worse than they'd expected.

Not knowing what else to do, the two pilots just sat there, waiting tensely for their guardian to reappear. Almost unconsciously, Asuka fingered the ring on her left hand. It wasn't all that much really, just a small diamond set in a band of gold.

But it was hers, and she would be damned if she was going to let anyone take that away from her. Without even realizing it, Asuka's face contorted into the beginnings of a snarl.

"Asuka?" Shinji asked quietly, slightly worried at his fiancée's expression.

Asuka turned to look at Shinji, then the snarl changed into a tense grin. "It's... nothing."

Shinji almost smiled, but the sound of their guardian's bedroom door sliding open caused both pilots to turn. Misato emerged, now dressed in her standard civilian attire.

The three just stared at each other for a moment, each trying to find a way to begin a conversation. Finally, Misato broke the awkward silence. "We need to talk," she said, gesturing out to the kitchen.

The pilots nodded, then stood up and headed out to the kitchen, taking seats next to each other at the table. They absently noticed a few bags sitting on the counter, but they were too tense to really pay attention.

Misato sat down across from them, still showing no hint of a smile. "The commander had a very interesting thing to say at the staff meeting."

Neither pilot said anything, so Misato continued, "At first, I thought that it may have been some kind of very elaborate joke. I doubt the commander could be easily convinced to go along with such a ruse, however. Judging from your behavior, not to mention the none-too-cheap looking ring on Asuka's finger," she said, gesturing to the girl, "I'm assuming you're both serious about this."

"We've never been more serious about anything in our lives," Shinji said solemnly.

Misato's cold facade faded at the announcement, her face shifting to something that both pilots could easily recognize; weariness. "Are you really sure about this? Marriage is a very serious commitment. I don't doubt how you may feel, but I'm not sure if either of you are truly mature enough to understand the full consequences of your actions."

"Thanks for the support, Misato," Asuka said bitterly, "we knew we could count on you."

Misato sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to say that-"

"Just what then?" Shinji asked, his voice quiet but heated.

Misato sighed again. "Why do you want to get married?" This question was indeed on the forefront of Misato's mind. Just the concept of marriage was vaguely intimidating to NERV's Operations Director. How two fourteen year olds could just up and decide to 'get hitched' completely stupefied her. Major Katsuragi had to make sure that this wasn't just a case of teenage hormones, or a relationship based on anything other than a genuine desire of the pilots to spend the rest of their lives together.

"Why not?" Asuka asked. She was trying to sound casual, but she didn't quite succeed.

"You're only fourteen!" Misato exclaimed.

"So?" Asuka replied, her falsely casual tone of voice becoming even more tense.

Misato took a deep breath, then let it out. "I'm sure you're aware that marriage is not exactly common for fourteen year olds."

"We're not exactly common fourteen year olds," Asuka shot back. "I assumed you would have realized this. You are, after all, our guardian, not to mention our _military commander_."

"Yeah," Shinji agreed, "Every time we go out against an Angel, we could actually... die. Don't you think that makes us more mature than our classmates?"

Misato looked at her two charges carefully. She saw already that nothing she could say would sway them; both looked more determined than she could ever recall seeing them. She didn't know whether to be irritated or proud.

"You are both quite young to be in a relationship of this sort," Misato began. Both pilots' faces hardened at this, an expression of resigned bitterness that Misato knew all too well. Then the purple-haired woman smiled slightly and continued, "but I can understand why, and I'm very happy for the both of you."

Shinji and Asuka were both shocked for a moment, but then they both smiled in relief. Misato couldn't have actually forbidden it now, but her approval meant a lot to them. She was the closest thing either had to a real parent.

Misato could feel the mood lighten almost instantly and took full advantage of it. "I guess this explains your strange behavior earlier."

Asuka grinned. "Well, you know how it goes..." Beside her, Shinji smiled faintly. They had still been laughing about that when they had gotten home.

"So," Misato asked casually, "Is this just a momentary lapse of sanity, or has something been going on for a while?"

Asuka sighed wistfully. "It's been a while, all right."

"Exactly how long is a while?" Misato asked, her tone of voice not changing at all. The slight narrowing of her eyes, however, belied the casualness of her voice.

"Two months," Shinji replied distantly.

Misato just stared at her older charge for a moment, almost unable to believe it. "You've been together for two months?"

"Yeah." Asuka said, trying to sound casual.

Misato's eyes grew distant for a moment, flashes of half-remembered scenes of life coming to her memory. Arguments that seemed just a little too intense to be real, a touch here, a surreptitious glance there...

After a moment, Misato sighed. She'd never imagined that her two Children charges would have been capable of maintaining such a secret for so long. 'And it was right under my nose all along. Damn.'

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Misato asked. She thought she knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it directly from the Children themselves. She deserved to hear it directly from them now, after all of this. They owed her that much, at least.

Shinji closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "We wanted to tell you, Misato; we wanted to tell you back when it first began, but... we couldn't."

Asuka nodded in agreement. "We were worried that you might try and break us up. That's why... we had to keep it a secret. We are sorry for lying to you, Misato, but this was just too important."

The fiery German girl sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she continued on, her voice much more energetic. "I mean, look at how NERV orders our personal lives around; we weren't even allowed to go on a school trip! If we couldn't even do that, how the hell were we supposed to think that they wouldn't want to break us up?!"

Misato was surprised by the girl's vehemence, but she thought she understood all too well what her younger charge meant. "It's okay," she said. "I understand."

"Thank you, Misato." Shinji said.

"Yeah," Asuka agreed. "That... means a lot to us."

Misato smiled, then stood up and walked to the counter.

"What's in the bags?" Asuka asked.

Misato smirked and carried them back to the table. "I decided to pick up something on the way home. I didn't think that you should have to cook tonight, Shinji."

Shinji smiled, grateful for her thoughtfulness. "Thank you, Misato."

"What'd you get?" Asuka asked. She was always ready to try good food, not that this town had very much of it. She knew she had to get Shinji to visit Germany some time, just so she could show him what real food was. She was undeniably relieved as she saw Misato pull out a tray of lasagna, something Asuka hadn't had in years.

"That looks pretty good, Misato." Shinji said.

Misato smiled faintly. "That wasn't all I picked up."

Asuka grinned. "You got more food?" She wasn't really that hungry, but any opportunity for good food was enough for her. Shinji was a decent cook, but for some reason he seemed to enjoy making only Japanese food.

Shinji groaned, but couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face at his fiancée's enthusiasm. She had mentioned, more than once, how much she would appreciate some non-Japanese food. He had been able to oblige her, once, a few weeks ago.

Next to him, Asuka smirked, also remembering that night. Things had been beginning to get tense between them by then, the stress of total secrecy really starting to cause a rift. That night, however, had considerably helped lessen the stress, and may have even helped them keep the secret longer than they would have otherwise been able to.

Misato looked back and forth between her teenage charges, wishing she could understand just what was going through their minds at that moment. She had always prided herself on being able to predict what the two would do in any given situation. Now, though, the purple-haired woman finally began to realize just how complex they truly were.

When Misato spoke, she had a strangely solemn expression on her face. "No more food, I'm afraid."

Shinji and Asuka both looked at their guardian, curious as to what else she would have bought. If it wasn't food, what was it? And why was she even mentioning it?

Misato still looked strangely solemn as she pulled a bottle of champagne out of the second bag. The teens look confused for a moment, then Asuka nodded, smiling faintly. Shinji still didn't quite understand.

"I thought you would like something to celebrate your engagement," Misato said.

Asuka smiled. "Thanks, Misato."

"But... we're not old enough to drink," Shinji protested.

Asuka turned to look at her fiancée with a raised eyebrow. She didn't quite know whether to be amused or exasperated at his argument.

"Are you old enough to get married?" Misato asked casually.

"Yes." Shinji said, his voice quiet but determined.

"Then you're also old enough to drink," Misato responded evenly.

Shinji nodded after a moment. "Well, it's just... I never drank before."

Misato smirked. "You've never been engaged before, but you don't look to be having too hard of a time with it." Asuka smirked, but Shinji blushed faintly at the implied praise.

"And besides," Misato continued, "your blushing bride doesn't seem to have too much of a problem with it."

Asuka smirked. "Why would I?"

Shinji turned to look at her. He could guess well enough what she would have to say on the subject.

---

Misato smiled slightly as she looked across the table. The food was gone, and the champagne showed no sign of lasting through the night. She herself wasn't quite drunk yet, but both of her charges were beginning to look pretty tipsy.

They had made small talk over dinner, mainly of inconsequential things like school and synch tests. NERV's Operations Director had wanted to wait until both her charges were sufficiently relaxed and comfortable before really talking about the specifics of their relationship.

On a certain level, she felt kind of guilty about doing this; getting them drunk before probing for information. She had wanted to ask while they were still sober, but she wasn't sure if she could trust them to be completely honest.

The thought hurt, but the fact was that they'd concealed a relationship for two months. If they felt threatened by her questions, it was all too possible they would lie to her again. And as much as she cared for them both, she couldn't allow any more dishonesty.

"So," Misato asked, "why'd you wait so long to announce it?"

Both teens looked deep in thought for a moment. When they spoke, Misato knew the alcohol hadn't affected them as much as it had seemed to. Their voices were both slurred, but not as much as she'd expected.

"We only got engaged yesterday," Asuka said, "But the whole time, we didn't... we couldn't... let anyone know."

Shinji nodded. "We thought that if NERV found out, they would order us separated. That's why we had to... lie. We're sorry, Misato, but... we couldn't do it any other way."

Misato nodded. She knew they had reason enough to think that. In all honesty, had the commander not already approved it, she may have given serious thought to doing just what they feared.

She cared about them both almost as if they were her own children, but they were only fourteen years old. And she didn't even want to think about how this would affect their duties. 'Although', she admitted to herself, 'it hasn't hurt them so far...'

She blinked, suddenly realizing something. "Your synch ratios," she said slowly, "this is why they've been going up, isn't it?"

Both pilots looked blank at Misato's words. After a moment, however, Shinji's eyes widened in slight amazement. Asuka also looked surprised.

"This has helped us... I guess," she said, then paused thoughtfully. "It's a shame we didn't realize that earlier. That would have been a good argument to use against Commander Ikari."

Misato looked thoughtful for a moment. "How did that go?" she asked, "all he said at the meeting was that you two were engaged and that he'd given his approval."

Shinji sighed. "We went to his office right after the harmonics test."

Misato nodded. "I noticed that you both looked a little edgy."

"Wouldn't you be?" Shinji asked with a frown, "Depending upon what he said, we would either be engaged, or...something else." He didn't want to think about what that something else may have been.

"Fuyutsuki was also there. I think they were getting ready for the meeting when we walked in," Asuka said. "The commander asked what we wanted, so we told him. He didn't look the least bit surprised. Fuyutsuki..."

Shinji started to say something, but he shut his mouth before any words could come out.

Misato looked back and forth between them, all too aware that another secret was playing out again before her. "Fuyutsuki, what?"

Asuka grinned nervously for a moment, then her expression shifted over to her more normal look of haughty arrogance. "Fuyutsuki was also surprised, of course."

Shinji nodded quickly in agreement, but there was still a hint of nervousness in his features. Had Misato seen it a week ago, she may not have picked up on it at all. Now, however, she was on full alert for any signs of deceit.

She didn't look it, though. "So the commander wasn't really surprised?" Misato said, trying to change the topic back. She could find out the rest later, after she knew more about the relationship itself.

Asuka's grin fell slightly for a brief minute, but she was quickly able to overcome her outward nervousness. She could tell Misato didn't buy it, but she also knew that their guardian would let it go. For now, anyway. "Yeah. He didn't really look all that surprised."

The girl was about to throw in a comment about how cold-hearted their supreme commander was, but a question from her fiancée mentally stopped Asuka in her tracks.

"Do you think he knew, Asuka?" Shinji asked quietly. She didn't respond, but the slight widening of her eyes betrayed her thoughts on the subject.

Misato looked back and forth between her two charges. She could easily think up several scenarios as to why the commander may have known. The first was that Ikari was a very observant person; he may have noticed a few subtle signs that everyone else had missed. The second was that maybe surveillance had reported something out of the ordinary. The third was...

Oh, God. She knew all too well what the third one was. Without consciously doing so, Misato thought back on the standard policy for the pilots' bi-monthly physical exam results; any irregularities were to be immediately reported to the commander. As far as Misato knew, the pilots weren't even aware of that rule, but, if they had actually...

"We can talk about this tomorrow," Misato said, her voice firm. "We _will_ talk about this tomorrow."

Shinji and Asuka nodded. They were determined, but also apprehensive. They could guess easily enough what their guardian was thinking of, and they also knew that she was right to think that.

Misato could feel the tension in the air, an almost tangible thing. She wished she could figure out how to lighten the mood some, before things got so tense that they started actually yelling at each other.

The purple-haired woman's eyes widened as another realization dawned on her. 'The yelling... the fighting...'

When she spoke, her voice was quiet, almost as if she was talking to herself. "The fighting was all fake, wasn't it? It was just a diversion."

The Children traded a tired smile. "Not all of it," Asuka said, her voice distant. "Some times we couldn't leave it alone when we were by ourselves."

Shinji closed his eyes for a brief moment and sighed. "Yeah. When we were alone, we argued sometimes. It... got worse as time went on."

Major Katsuragi's instincts were on full alert as Shinji said this, her mind coming to a conclusion that she couldn't allow. "You... fought?"

Both pilots looked at their guardian curiously, slightly unnerved by the icy tone. "Yeah," Shinji admitted quietly.

"We already told you we fought," Asuka said. "You've seen us fight. Why are you making such a big deal out of all this?"

Misato looked back and forth between the two again, her eyes narrowed. "Precisely how did you... fight?"

"Huh?" Asuka looked at Shinji, completely unaware as to how to answer the question. The Third Child was likewise confused.

"What do you mean, Misato?" He asked.

Misato's eyes narrowed even more for a second, then she relaxed slightly. Perhaps her initial guess had been completely off. She hoped it was, anyway. "When you fought, did you actually... fight?"

Shinji stared at Misato for a moment, still puzzled. Then he realized exactly what she meant. He opened his mouth to speak, but Asuka interrupted him.

"You mean physically?" The redhead asked. At Misato's nod, the girl shook her head. "No."

Misato was slightly relieved, but she still wasn't completely convinced that the two were telling the truth. "You never touched each other?"

Both pilots blushed, then Misato replayed her words. She mentally kicked herself in the head for letting her instincts get the better of her. A question like that could only alienate the two further right now.

"Not... like that," Asuka managed to force out. She hated being tongue-tied on those rare occasions when it actually happened, but right now was even worse. She glanced at Shinji briefly, but he still looked as red as a tomato.

For his part, Shinji was possibly more embarrassed than he'd been all day. Things were somehow different when they were alone. When no one else was around, it almost seemed like the world belonged to the two pilots, that nothing they could do was wrong. Now, though, he was almost mortified just by the unintentional meaning of Misato's question.

"So, how exactly did all of this begin?" Misato asked, trying desperately to change the topic. The none-too-subtle shift in conversation was not lost on either pilot, but both were more than willing to go along with it.

"I guess you could say it started the night I killed the Eighth Angel," Asuka said dismissively. "It went from there."

Misato quirked an eyebrow. "You're some storyteller, Asuka."

Asuka smirked. "Why don't you ask us when we're sober, Misato, instead of getting us drunk and pumping us for information?"

Shinji blinked. "What? You're... taking advantage of us?"

Misato smiled faintly. "I suppose that's what I was doing."

"Why?" Shinji asked, slightly hurt, "Don't you trust us?" The moment the words left Shinji's mouth, both pilots' eyes widened as they realized the trap they had fallen into.

"Yes," Misato responded evenly. "I trust you to perform to the best of your abilities as pilots. I trust you to be generally upstanding people. I would even trust you with my life if necessary. I do not, _however_, trust you to tell me the truth in regards to your relationship." Shinji and Asuka were slightly hurt by this, but they knew their guardian had more than adequate cause for saying that.

"Even if only as a joke, I asked you many times if there was anything going on. You always said there wasn't." Misato paused, then continued in a more sympathetic tone, "I can understand why you did that. But from now on, I want no more secrets or lies in this house. Do you understand?"

Shinji and Asuka both nodded solemnly. Misato continued, "No matter what you have to tell me, I will not get mad or forbid it. They only thing I will get mad about is you lying to me any more."

"You won't get mad about anything?" Asuka asked quietly.

Misato's expression softened. "I may get a little upset about certain things, but I promise that I will be as understanding as possible."

There was a brief moment of silence, with the two pilots trying to decide just how things should be now between them and their guardian, just how much they could tell and how much they couldn't.

"So," Misato asked, "is there anything else that you think I should know?"

The two pilots traded a brief glance, still mentally weighing what they should tell the purple-haired woman. She had a right to know, really, considering who she was to them, both personally and professionally.   
  
After a moment of almost deafening silence, Asuka said, "I thought you wanted to talk about this tomorrow."

Shinji nodded in silent agreement, not wanting to discuss it, but knowing at the same time that they would eventually have to.

Misato leaned back in her chair and sighed. She'd never actually expected this to happen. Tomorrow it was, then. For tonight...

"So," Misato asked, changing the topic once again, "just why did you finally decide to go public with it?"

Asuka sighed, grateful for their guardian's silent agreement to wait until tomorrow. "It was getting... hard, keeping it a secret like that."

"It all happened yesterday," Shinji said quietly. "We talked it over."

Asuka nodded. "We just couldn't keep it up anymore. Even when we were alone, we were snapping at each other constantly. We'd just had a pretty bad fight. We apologized right after, but we could both see that we were reaching our breaking points. We either had to end it, or go public... where we thought NERV would end it for us. It was a lose-lose situation."

"Is that what you meant by the fighting getting worse over time?" Misato asked, still slightly embarrassed by her earlier gaff. Shinji nodded in response, his eyes distant.

"So what happened?" Misato asked.

"Shinji proposed. I accepted," Asuka said casually. The faint smirk on her face, though, told Misato that things probably hadn't been quite that simple.

Shinji nodded in agreement to Asuka's words. His thoughts were on the complexities of yesterday, but he didn't want to bring that up now, if ever. "We confronted my father earlier today. We expected him to forbid it, but he didn't."

Asuka sighed. "Two months of worrying, two months of keeping it hidden. It was all... for nothing." Both Children frowned thoughtfully.

"Well," Misato said optimistically, "just look on the bright side; you don't have to hide it anymore. And... I would imagine that you two are closer for having kept it to yourselves. It may have been painful to do so, but you've both suffered pain before. And as much as it hurt at the time, it made you better people in the long run."

The two pilots stared at their guardian for a moment, digesting the words. On one level, they made sense, but on another level, they just didn't fit. Shinji sighed and closed his eyes momentarily, but Asuka just smirked faintly.

Misato relaxed back into her chair, content to share the comfortable silence with the two adult children sitting across from her. Her thoughts wandered randomly for a moment, before finally settling on her curiosity about the past two months.

As much as she cared for the two pilots, Misato had realized long ago that neither was the most... social... person that she'd ever met. For them to fall into a relationship like this, without anybody to give them advice or reassurances... it must have been intimidating, at the very least.

"Secrets well kept," Misato muttered, almost unaware that she spoke out loud. Her two charges heard what she said, though.

Asuka smirked faintly, but the expression didn't have its usual energy. "I guess you could say that."

Misato thought for a moment, then her expression hardened slightly. As much as she didn't want to alienate the two Children any more than she already had, there were a few questions that she had to ask. "Was it... hard?"

Shinji closed his eyes, his guardian's question bringing to mind thoughts he'd had every single day. "Yeah."

Asuka sighed. It had been hard all right. When they were alone, they'd been... together. They hadn't had to keep up all the secrets and facades they wore at school and at NERV. They could just be themselves.

Misato frowned. There was a question she wanted to ask. Not as the Children's guardian or as NERV's Operations Director, but rather as just a person. "Did you keep secrets from each other?"

"No." Shinji said quietly. Had he looked over at his fiancée, the Third Child would have seen her trademark grin appear for a brief minute.

Asuka knew how bad it had been on Shinji to keep their secret, and also to keep secrets in general. But she also knew that thinking about it now would do nothing. They'd kept their secret for two months, but those two months were over now. "Actually," Asuka said crossly, "Shinji was keeping one secret from me."

Shinji blinked. "I was?" He tried to think up anything that he might not have told her. He couldn't recall anything even mildly important.

Asuka could see his confusion and smirked slightly. While it may have just been the alcohol clouding his mind, he had seemed remarkably sober so far. Exasperated, she held up her left hand, the ring catching the light in just the right way, almost seeming to sparkle.

Shinji looked at the ring, still confused for a moment more. Then realization sunk in and he blushed slightly.

Asuka smirked at her embarrassed fiancée a moment more, then her expression softened. "I know why you kept it a secret, and I'm not mad. I would, however, like to know just when you picked it up."

Shinji nodded, honestly relieved. He'd thought Asuka was mad at him. Even with all that had happened, he couldn't predict her at all. "Well," he said, "it was... a few days after the Ninth Angel."

Misato was slightly surprised by how far ahead her older charge had thought; the Ninth Angel had been more than a month ago. But what really captured her attention at the moment, however, was the thoughtful expression on Asuka's face, almost as if that date held some special meaning.

Asuka looked at her fiancée carefully. "Was it before..."

Shinji nodded. "Yeah. A couple days."

"Before what?" Misato asked, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"You said we were going to wait until tomorrow to talk about that," Asuka said, her eyes never leaving Shinji's face.

After a moment, Misato nodded tiredly. That was indeed a subject for tomorrow. Tonight was for celebrating.****

---

Kaji was idly whistling a classic lounge song as he rang the doorbell of the Katsuragi/Ikari/Sohryu apartment.

The unshaven spy knew that NERV's Operations Director had wanted to talk to her two charges alone, but the meeting had ended more than five hours ago. By now, they were either laughing it up or sharing a cold silence.

Kaji wasn't quite sure which, though; Katsuragi was amazingly difficult to predict at times. Her two charges were as well, though. Kaji had never really expected something like this between them.

He had occasionally wondered about it, though. They were teenagers, after all, and they were actually quite similar if you looked past the surface. One of their shared similarities, however, was their desire to have as little human contact as possible.

Altogether, was indeed quite anxious to see what was actually going on. As unrealistic as it seemed at first, he was reasonably sure that the two pilots were indeed serious about their relationship. Asuka was known to have quite a sense of humor, but Kaji knew that she would not joke around about something like this. And even if she somehow did, Shinji would never go along with it, not if meant having to confront his father.

And while it was all rather strange, Kaji was... happy... for them. As cliché as it sounded, they deserved each other. He knew both pilots fairly well, and the NERV agent prided himself on his ability to judge character.

He really did hope that they could make it work. Despite their hidden maturity, they were still only fourteen. They had both the wisdom of adults and the strength of youth. They also, however, had the impatience of youth, something that had been the downfall of many relationships.

Despite his worries, he didn't think they would have any serious problems. If they were determined enough to get engaged, then he was reasonably sure that they were also determined enough to deal with any problems that may arise.

Kaji grinned as the door opened. Once he saw who it was, his grin became even wider. Standing before him was NERV's Operations Director, always a sight for his sore eyes.

At least now he knew the basics of what had been transpiring beyond the door. Misato was smiling. Not a full blown expression of joy, but rather just a small, satisfied smile. She looked... happy, for the first time in a long time. "Miss me, gorgeous?" 

Misato quirked an eyebrow, but she couldn't altogether keep the humor out of her voice. "Not quite, but I suppose you can come in."

"I'd like to talk to you for a moment, actually," Kaji said, much more serious than before.

"About Shinji and Asuka?" Misato asked.

At Kaji's nod, Misato smiled faintly. "I thought you might. I needed to talk to you anyway."

Kaji raised an eyebrow. "What about?"

Misato looked both serious and amused at the same time. "Well, it's like this..."

-End Chapter 2

Author's Notes

My apologies for the lateness of the update. Things have been quite busy for me the past few months. I'm adapting well, however, so future updates should become more regular.

Also, this chapter was originally much longer. There was a collection of interludes and many scenes that I'd typed up, but they ultimately just didn't add to the chapter in any meaningful way.

I'm also one of those people that doesn't like permanently deleting things, so I almost always end up saving any scrapped scene that is longer than one paragraph in length. As of right now, I have over six thousand words in just the deleted scenes for this chapter, more words than the chapter itself has.

I'm still working on my other stories as well. I expect the third chapter of Standing at the Shore will be done within a month or so, and I also hope to finally get out chapter two of Sorrowful Reflections. I'm also working on a few different one-shots, and I'll most likely have at least one or two of those up within the next month or so.

I'm also still working on the prequel to this story. As it spans a two month period, it will be quite long. I have most of the basic ideas hammered out, and I have scenes here and there typed up. Most of it, however, remains in script format. The main thing I am unsure of is whether I should make it a one-shot or an eight chapter story.

As far as ADV itself goes, I am reasonably sure of where the story is going. When I first started this version of it, I had almost an entire outline typed up. If you've ever typed up an outline for a very long story over the course of one week, however, then you know what happens to the basic ideas over time.

Because I've changed around quite a bit of my outline, I have nothing set in stone for the rest of it. I know almost exactly how chapter three is going to go, and I'm pretty sure about chapter 4, but chapter 10 is still very much up in the air.

The only thing I am sure of is that it will eventually stretch to the equivalent of EoE, and that it will be at least sixteen chapters long, but probably even more.

As always, any comments, questions, or criticisms are welcome at omegahunter1 netzero.com

Rough Draft Started 3/18/04

Rough Draft Finished 4/15/04

Final Draft Finished 7/06/04


	3. Victory

A Different View

by Keen Drallin

Chapter 3 - Victory

Disclaimer - I do not own Evangelion. No money is being made from this.

"The Angel appeared about two minutes ago." Hyuga said. On screen in front of him was a map of the Angel's last known position; directly over the East Indian Ocean.

Misato nodded, listening with half an ear as the techs ordered an observation satellite's into place. She wasn't ignoring them, but she'd learned long ago not to bother with every little detail. At least, not the ones that weren't her department. If it would give her even the slightest edge for planning how to actually kill the Angels, she'd know the most minute facts and figures. But it wouldn't, so she left the technical department to the techs.

NERV's Operations Director tuned back in as the image on screen changed. Rather than the computer generated image of space and satellite locations, the massive form of the Tenth Angel appeared.

Misato was momentarily taken aback by the bizarre being. It looked almost like a child's drawing, a strange cross between the abstract and the absurd.

It's center body piece resembled some huge, grotesque eye. Branching off from each side of the center were two wing-like structures, each trailing off into even smaller extensions.

"It's enormous!" Hyuga said, awe evident in his voice.

"It's impressive, all right," Misato agreed, listening to the techs speaking to each other about the correct placement of satellites.

A moment after she heard a tech say, "Data transmission complete," the image from the satellites flickered, then went completely dead.

"Was that an AT-Field?" Misato asked.

"Yes," Ritsuko said, her tone strangely calm, "a new way of using one."

---

Shinji Ikari sat on a bench in the lounge, staring out one of the windows. He liked to do this on occasion, whenever he was tense about something, and he was definitely tense right now.

He was always nervous before an Angel attack, and today was no different. The pilots hadn't been told very much of what this Angel's physical appearance or probable capabilities were, just that it seemed to be coming at them directly from orbit.

The Angel wasn't the only thing that made Shinji feel less than his best this morning, however. The day had started off bad, with both the Second and Third Children waking with the exact knowledge of what a hangover felt like. And if that wasn't bad enough, they'd been greeted by their all-too-cheerful guardian not long after they'd risen to consciousness.

Despite Misato's initial amusement at the state they were in, she'd quickly become much more serious. And despite their slightly addle-brained states, both pilots had very quickly figured out why.

Although Shinji's memories of the night before were somewhat fuzzy, he could still remember all the major points of conversation. Foremost among them was Misato's firm insistence that the three of them would talk tomorrow. The topic of discussion made Shinji understandably nervous, and it had been even worse this morning. Last night, at least, the conversation was going to take place sometime in the future, always a comforting thought about unpleasant situations. This morning, however, it had been staring them right in the face, and Shinji had known that there was no way himself and his fiancée would be able to delay it any more.

Misato had told the two pilots they had an hour to get ready, then they were going to 'talk.'

Before the hour had been up, however, they'd gotten a call from NERV saying that the latest Angel had been sighted. And although he hadn't yet discussed it with Asuka, the Third Child knew that his fiancée was just as nervous about the upcoming talk.

Shinji was interrupted from his train-wreck of thought by the sound of the door sliding open. He turned towards the entrance of the lounge to see Asuka walk into the room. Like Shinji, she was wearing her plugsuit. And also like Shinji, she didn't look to be functioning quite at maximum capacity today.

"You look like I feel," The Second Child said, walking over and sitting down next to her fiancée.

Shinji laughed weakly, then noticed that Asuka was holding some kind of small plastic container in her hand. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a pill bottle. Shinji just then remembered that Asuka had gone to the infirmary for aspirin.

Asuka smirked at Shinji's look of confusion, but she could understand it perfectly. Even she seemed to have the attention span of a toddler with ADD this morning. "Is that yours?" She asked, pointing at the half-empty bottle of soda sitting next to Shinji.

The Third Child nodded, so Asuka grabbed the soda and used it to wash down a few of the capsules. She handed the soda and the aspirin to Shinji.

"Thanks, Asuka," he said, also downing a few of the small white pills.

"Misato never told us what a hangover was like," Asuka said sarcastically.

Shinji laughed slightly. "I guess she thought we'd know."

Asuka raised her hands in mock-exasperation. "That women expects us to know all about the horrors of alcohol?! Who does she think we are, us poor young innocent little children?!"

Shinji tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't for more than thirty seconds. He really did try, but he just couldn't keep the laughter down.

The Third Child almost fell down laughing. If he hadn't been sitting down, Shinji knew that he would have been rolling on the floor. A moment later, Asuka joined him. The two Children practically had to hold each other up, they were laughing so hard.

"Are you all right?"

Shinji and Asuka looked up at the question, still chuckling. To their surprise, Rei Ayanami stood several feet in front of them, looking as inscrutable as ever. After another moment of confusion, Shinji realized that she must have walked in while the future Ikari were indisposed.

"We're okay, Rei." Shinji said, both trying to be polite and trying not to start laughing again.

"In a manner of speaking, anyway." Asuka said, facing the same internal dilemma as her roommate.

"That's good," The First Child said. Then she walked over to one of vending machines, purchased a bottle of water, and sat down several tables away from the engaged couple.

Shinji and Asuka traded a confused glance at their comrade's behavior, but they were both used to strange behavior from her. Shinji wanted to talk to the pilot of Unit-00, but he couldn't think up any kind of opening that seemed appropriate; one that wouldn't irritate Asuka or alienate Rei. He reflected upon the blue-haired girl, all that he knew about her, and everything they'd ever discussed in the past. From their first 'meeting,' before he'd first gotten into Misato's car, to their talk before the Fifth Angel, he'd always gotten the impression that Rei was a truly questioning soul, one that wanted to understand but couldn't. Yet at the same time, a person possessed of almost unbelievable courage, not even hesitating before risking her life for a fellow pilot.

Asuka briefly glanced at Shinji, noting the distant look in his eyes and the slight frown on his face, then she mentally shrugged. God, she hated having a hangover. "What are you doing here, anyway, Rei?"

The question wasn't rude, so much as genuinely curious; as far as Asuka knew, the First Child never came to the lounge. To the Second Child's surprise, Rei responded, "Major Katsuragi suggested that I come here."

---

"Look at the size of that tidal-wave. That's an AT-Field impact," Misato said, looking at the images displayed on the monitors. The primary command staff was assembled in one of the conference rooms, all except for the commanders. Not for the first time today, Misato wished that her two superiors had waited one more day before heading off to Antarctica.

"It uses kinetic energy also," Maya said. "This Angel is like a huge living bomb."

"At least the first blast missed and hit the ocean," Ritsuko said optimistically. Her tone fell slightly as she continued, "However, the second shot hit closer to land, and it's been steadily correcting its error ratio."

"So it's learning to aim itself," Misato said with a sigh.

"We detonated an N2 aerial mine on it," Hyuga informed the major. "No effect."

"And the Angel has been hiding since then," Aoba said after checking over the latest readouts. "It's jamming is just too strong."

Misato sighed again. "It's coming here, isn't it?"

"It's a safe bet," Ritsuko said with a humorless smirk. "And if it falls on us..."

Misato could easily figure out what her old friend meant. "Then there'll be a third Ashinoko Lake, right?"

"Actually," Ritsuko corrected, "this whole area will become an extension of the Pacific Ocean."

"Is there any way we can contact Commander Ikari?" Misato asked.

Aoba shook his head. "It's impossible; we can't get through the Angel's jamming effect."

"What about the MAGI?" The purple-haired woman inquired.

"The MAGI are unanimous in recommending evacuation," Maya replied.

"What will you do?" Ritsuko asked Misato. "You're the one who's in charge of all this now."

NERV's Operations Director thought for a moment, then announced, "notify all the ministries concerned that I am issuing a special D-17 declaration. All residents within a fifty kilometer radius are to be evacuated immediately. Also, tell Matsushiro to back up the MAGI."

"Are we going to evacuate as well, ma'am?" Hyuga asked.

"No," Misato said, "but it's not necessary to place everyone here at risk. Order the evacuation of all non-primary personnel to Matsushiro."

----

Asuka sighed and took a few more aspirin. Despite her own ambivalent feelings for the First Child, Asuka had been trying to initiate a conversation for the last five, mainly for Shinji's sake. They'd had a talk about Rei once, a few weeks ago. One of the things that Asuka had gained from the conversation was a greater understanding of the interaction between her two comrades, and how Shinji felt about the mysterious pilot of Unit-01.

The conversation, and its counterpart, had helped clear the air between the two youths. And while Asuka had been irritated to hear about Shinji's 'accident' at Rei's apartment, the redhead's own admission on what had happened on her voyage to Japan had really knocked the wind out of her offensive sails.

Today, the First Child had proved to be as good a conversationalist as usual. By now, Asuka had exhausted just about every avenue of conversation she could think of. Shinji had also just about run out of things to say, and now the roommates were trying to figure out exactly why Rei was there. It certainly wasn't to talk, and one of the few things they'd been able to get out of the blue-haired girl was that Misato's suggestion to come to the lounge had been just that; a suggestion.

That was what surprised Shinji the most, that Rei had chosen to come to the lounge of her own accord. As far as he could recall, the First Child had never wanted to spend time with her fellow pilots in a casual setting.

Just as Shinji was opening his mouth to again try and make conversation again, an announcement came over the public address system. "All pilots, please report the briefing room 2. All pilots, please report to briefing room 2."

With a sigh, the Third Child pulled himself out of his seat. "That was quick," Asuka said, also getting up.

"I wonder what ideas Misato came up with," Shinji wondered out loud.

"A plan to defeat the Angel."

Shinji turned in surprise to Rei, who'd spoken the words.

Asuka bit back the rude response that had almost come out. Now that Rei was finally speaking, it wasn't the time to insult her back into near-mute status.

"What do you think it is?" Shinji asked the blue-haired girl, curious as to why she chose to answer a question of that sort.

Rei shrugged. "I do not know."

"I wonder if it'll be dangerous," The Third Child muttered to himself.

Asuka almost laughed at her fiancée's usual 'enthusiasm.' "The most it could do is kill us," she said with a smirk.

Shinji turned to face his roommate, wide-eyed. After a moment, he just sighed. Asuka now laughed, then stood there smirking imperiously at him, the expression too exaggerated to be anything but a joke.

Shinji tried to keep his expression neutral, but he couldn't help but smile at his fiancée's enthusiasm.

The two pilots smiled at each other, then both glanced over at Rei, who was looking back and forth between them, puzzled.

"What is it, Rei?" Shinji asked.

The blue-haired girl looked ready to ask something for a moment, then her expression changed slightly. She almost seemed to shrug before replying, "we are supposed to report to the briefing room."

With twin sighs, the engaged couple followed the First Child out the door.

---

Ritsuko, Misato, and the Children were on the bridge in the command center, looking at the geo-map of Tokyo-3 and the surrounding area.

Shinji simply watched the actions of everyone around him, his mind focused on the 'plan' Misato had come up with. At first glance, it seemed so foolhardy as to be suicidal, but...

Misato had never failed the pilots before. And as bizarre as her judgment seemed to be some times, she had proven time and again that her battle plans were some of the best out there.

"The Angel's ECM jamming has caused us to lose track of it again," Maya reported.

"Since it's impossible to calculate the exact location," Misato said to the pilots, "the MAGI have estimated a probable drop zone radius from what little data we've been able to collect."

NERV's Operations Director gestured to the screen, which changed slightly. Rather than the even green it had been before, three large circles shifted to orange. "This is it…"

"That's a huge area to cover!" Asuka exclaimed.

"It could drop on any of these locations?!" Shinji asked, both upset and uncertain.

"Given the size of the target's AT Field," Ritsuko said, "it could completely annihilate NERV Headquarters simply by coming close with a near miss."

Misato continued on before the Second and Third Children could say anything else about the probability of success. "We'll disperse the EVAs so there's one at each of these three points," she said, gesturing to the center of each orange circle.

"What is this dispersal based on?" Rei asked.

Misato's eyes narrowed slightly as she turned back to the screen. The purple-haired woman's voice was firm as she replied, "a guess."

Despite their decision to trust Misato's judgment, Shinji and Asuka couldn't quite believe what their guardian and commander had just said. "A guess?!" They asked in unison, their voices full of disbelief.

"It's women's intuition," Misato shot back.

"Women's intuition," Asuka muttered sarcastically to Shinji. "It looks like our miracle is getting further and further away."

"Miracle's aren't something that just happen," Misato said, her back still turned to the pilots. "They're something that people make happen."

---

'Here we go again,' Shinji thought to himself as he stared out through the front of the elevator. On either side of him stood his two fellow pilots, both also looking straight ahead.

He was worried about the upcoming fight, more worried than he usually was. The last Angel had been awkward to destroy, but only because NERV's power had been shut down. If NERV had been at full capacity, it was possible that the EVAs might not have even had to launch. A single N2 mine might have destroyed the Ninth.

But it'd had no obvious offensive abilities besides its acid. This Angel, however...

Shinji was interrupted from his ruminations by Asuka poking him rudely in the side. "Dammit, Asuka!" he exclaimed, turning to look at his fiancée. She looked shocked for a moment, then her eyes narrowed.

"Awww, did I interrupt da poor widdle pilot?" She cooed, her tone almost ridiculously childish. She had a strange expression on her face, one he'd only seen a few times before. It was almost like Asuka was... probing for something, though what that was he didn't know. And almost every time she'd looked like that, she'd become insulting to him.

He just didn't understand her at times. Shinji almost sighed, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to show any signs of weakness to her right now, not when she was like this. Ignoring the fact that Rei was there with them, Shinji frowned. "I was trying to think, Asuka," he said, trying not to lose his patience.

She seemed not to notice his attempt to stay calm, instead stepping closer to him. "Oh, sorry, I forgot how slow a thinker you are," she replied, her tone anything but polite.

Shinji's frown widened at the insult, then even more when Asuka's smirk became even more exaggerated. "What the hell do you want, Asuka?! We're about to go into battle, you know! Shouldn't we save this for the fight?!" He said heatedly, stepping close to her, heedless of the fact that they were now standing almost toe-to-toe.

Asuka's smirk became even more pronounced at Shinji's show of spine, but it was different now. Rather than the calculating look from earlier, it was an expression of triumph. She closed the final foot between them, a delighted grin dancing across her face. "And where did this spine come from?" She asked, her tone almost like that of a child on Christmas morning.

Shinji blinked.

And just like that, the tension was gone. "Well... um... it's like..." the First Child stuttered out, trying to describe it without sounding stupid.

Asuka was faintly disappointed for a moment, then she just smirked again. 'He's there, all right,' she thought to herself, reassured. Two months of observations and thoughts had been proven correct once again. Well, more than two months, actually, but the rest didn't really count as much.

She'd actually planned on talking to him about they were going to be doing tonight, but that was hardly important compared to what had actually happened.

Asuka's smirk faded slightly. Shinji would have only reacted like that if something was really bothering him. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly, her tone serious.

Shinji ran a hand through his hair, then shrugged. "Yeah. It's just... this Angel is so... big."

Asuka nodded solemnly after a moment, then her smirk reappeared. "Jealous?" She asked innocently.

Shinji turned bright red and started sputtering a response. Asuka just laughed.

Shinji smirked at the sound of his fiancée's laughter. He would be damned if she was going to win again. "That's not what you said..." he began, but then his eyes widened. He turned around to look at Rei and again turned as red as a tomato.

Asuka followed his line and sight and also flushed. God, she'd almost forgotten about the First Child even being there. 'I just know she's going to have a question or two about this one,' she thought, almost mortified.

Rei was indeed quite curious, glancing back and forth between her two fellow pilots.

"What is it, Rei?" Shinji asked, trying to stop blushing so heavily.

The blue-haired Child took a moment before replying, "I had assumed that your previous fighting was simply a ruse to conceal the fact of your relationship."

"Well..." Asuka said, "It was... mostly."

Shinji nodded hurriedly, trying to figure out a way to steer the conversation onto any other topic.

"Your impending nuptials are now public knowledge, so why do you still fight?" The blue-haired girl asked.

"It's not really fighting now," Shinji said, "It's... um... Asuka?"

The Second Child frowned slightly at her fiancée for passing off the question, but tried her best to give an accurate answer. "It's... almost like a joke now, a way of relaxing."

Rei nodded, then went back to looking at the front of the elevator. Both Shinji and Asuka silently thanked their lucky stars that the First Child hadn't asked about the tail end of their conversation.

Over the intercom, they heard a tech announce, "Twenty minutes to estimated time of impact."

---

Inside Unit-00, Rei Ayanami lay back in her seat, her eyes closed. It looked to all the world that she was asleep, but the First Child was simply relaxing and conserving her energy for the upcoming fight. She wasn't worried about being destroyed in the battle, but Commander Ikari had once told her, 'waste not, want not.' If she obtained the rest she needed now, then she would not have to worry about the possibility of becoming fatigued prematurely during combat.

While she lay there, she briefly reflected upon her earlier conversation with the Second and Third Children. They'd seemed puzzled by her questions, and this confused her. She didn't understand everything they had said, and they didn't seem to understand what she'd asked.

In the privacy of Unit-00's entry plug, Rei Ayanami frowned. Why couldn't anyone help her understand?

---

Inside Unit-02, Asuka was also reclining in her seat with her eyes closed. Unlike her red-eyed comrade, however, the Second Child wore a confident grin. She was listening to music on a pair of earphones, but she hardly heard a single beat. Also unlike the blue-haired girl, Asuka's mind was as far from troubled as it had ever gotten.

What was there to be troubled about? Sure, just about everyone who'd seen her today had given the girl strange looks, ones filled with condescendence and ill-natured humor. Yeah, she still had to figure out a way to tell her best friend why she'd kept such a major secret from her for so long.

Asuka's grin widened. All of that could wait. Now... was the time for battle.

---

Shinji was sitting forward, his eyes focused on nothing in particular. Like every time he knew he was about to go into battle, his thoughts drifted back onto the past, forward into future, and everywhere in between.

His life had changed considerably since the first time he'd been inside an entry plug. Back then, he'd been a relatively normal fourteen year old boy, his only real goal in life to do good in school. He hadn't had any real friends, or even a real parent figure, no one to go to if he had a problem.

Now... he piloted an EVA, and was instrumental in the defense of humanity. He had friends, good friends that he knew he could count on. He had Misato, who was more a parent to him to anyone else had ever been. And... he was engaged. He was actually going to be married.

This thought had almost amazing power over Shinji, but it was still edged with some disbelief. He'd begun to accept the power he had in Unit-01, even if he didn't fully understand it. He had also begun to accept what Toji and Kensuke, and Rei, were to him, and how much their friendship mattered. He'd even begun to realize that Misato genuinely did care for him. But Asuka...

Sitting in the war machine that was his to command, the Third Child smiled.

All he'd wanted to do before was run away from his problems, hoping that somehow it would make it all better. But... running had never helped him before, and it would probably never help him again.

"I won't. I won't run away."

--

"The target has been sighted," Aoba exclaimed. "Maximum magnification!"

"Distance approximately 25,000," Hyuga reported.

Misato thumbed the intercom switch and announced, "The falling Angel has been sighted. All EVAs, get on your marks."

On screen, the forms of the EVAs crouched down into runners' starting positions and Misato continued, "we can only give you a rough estimated trajectory based upon optical observations. The MAGI will guide you until the estimated distance is 10,000 meters. After that, you'll have to use your own judgment."

'Good luck, and godspeed, my Children,' Misato thought, her hand coming up to touch her cross.

----

"Here we go," Shinji said, his voice barely audible. Asuka and Rei nodded in agreement over the com, then the EVAs umbilical cables were ejected the five minute markers started counting down.

"Let's move out!" Shinji yelled, then took off before his fellow pilots could say anything.

Everything became a blur for the Third Child as he rushed through the city. He was vaguely aware of his entry plug readouts showing where the other EVAs were, but almost all of his attention was focused on a tiny red blur he saw high in the sky; the heat of the Angel's entry making it stand out against the darker blue of the afternoon sky.

He heard Aoba give the Angel's current distance, and Shinji nearly panicked. It seemed much too far away. 'Gotta go faster. Gotta go faster,' he thought, he thought, his mind racing, his blood pumping in his veins.

Unit-01 practically slid through the city, tearing up building it its wake. Part of Shinji's mind wanted to slow down, but the rest of him refused that thought, knowing that the building were evacuated. It might cost money to fix, but there would be nothing at all to fix if they weren't able to stop their latest foe.

The massive form of the latest Angel parted the clouds ahead of Shinji, no red haze around it anymore.

His thoughts near animalistic, Shinji skidded to a halt in the dirt. "Spreading AT Field!" he yelled, bracing himself for the impact and raising Unit-01's arms.

The area around the two dueling behemoths began to glow with a purplish-red light as twin hexagonal fields flickered into existence.

Shinji grunted under the strain. He could feel Unit-01's footing begin to crumble, his enemy's mass beginning to drive him straight into the earth. A momentary bout of panic seized the Third Child as an image burned itself into his brain; himself, entombed within the earth, with Unit-01 as his coffin.

His footing crumbled even more for a moment as his will briefly fragmented. Then rage replaced terror, and Shinji felt a burst of energy explode from somewhere within him. What it was, he didn't quite know... nor did he even remotely care. All he cared about right now was the enemy.

Unit-00 was rushing at top speed across the outskirts of Tokyo-3, its pilot entirely focused on coming to the aid of Ikari. A promise made months ago would have come to her mind, had it not been fogged by her almost filial concern for the pilot of Unit-01. "Unit-02, expand your field!" Rei yelled.

"I'm already doing it!" The Second Child yelled back, pushing Unit-02 (and by extension, herself) as far as she possibly could.

The ground shook beneath the EVAs' power as the two war machines came charging up the hill to their comrade's support. With Asuka running in from Shinji's right and Rei from his left, the three cybernetic giants seemed to move almost as one for a brief moment, each pushing up on the monstrous form of their divine foe.

"Do it now!" Shinji yelled, all of his energy focused into one task; holding up the Angel long enough for Asuka and Rei to kill it.

Rei snarled, then slammed one hand against the Angel's AT Field. With her other hand, the First Child used her prog knife to slice open the hexagonal field of energy. Without worrying about where her prog knife would fall, the girl let go of the weapon and grabbed each side of the rip she'd cut into the field, then pulled with all of Unit-00's might.

"Eat this!" Asuka yelled as she lunged forward, prog knife firmly clutched in both hands. A fierce growl emanated from deep within the Second Child's throat as she felt her blade stab into the core of her adversary. Both the Angel and the knife glowed momentarily with a bright blue light, then the luminescence faded into nothingness.

The massive Angel's AT Field died completely. It's huge body collapsed over all three EVAs, then bubbled up for a brief moment, before exploding in a massive burst of heat and light.

And when it was all over, there was a massive crater from where the Angel had exploded, one more battle scar for Tokyo-3. But the EVAs had not been destroyed, and Tokyo-3 had been saved.

---

Major Katsuragi appraised the Children, more proud than she'd been in a long time. As Operations Director, she was proud of the three Evangelion pilots for performing to the best of their ability and destroying the Angel. As Misato Katsuragi, she was proud of her three Children for not disappointing her.

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei stood next to each other in front of the command dais, all with similar expressions on their faces. And while Rei looked to be the least interested of them, Misato could see the faint signs of pride in her expression, well hidden though they were. Even Shinji looked satisfied with himself, something that Misato hadn't seen in a long time.

And Asuka had been smirking ever since the three had gotten out of their entry plugs. The energetic redhead looked so smug and self satisfied that Misato almost felt sorry for Shinji. The purple-haired woman smirked at the thought. While she still held a few reservations about the situation, last night, and today, her opinion had begun to change slightly. Not completely, but she was more confident now that perhaps it wasn't as bad as she'd initially thought. Maybe they were mature enough for this.

Then her smirk widened. Maybe they were, maybe they won't... but she couldn't wait until the 'talk.' She would have her revenge for them keeping it a secret.

Shinji began to get slightly nervous at his guardian's smirk. Before he could ask Asuka what she thought, however, Aoba spoke up.

"Wireless communications have been restored," the long-haired technician said. "We're receiving a transmission from Commander Ikari en route to Antarctica."

The lighthearted mood that had seized the command center faded almost instantly at Aoba's announcement. Despite the fact that they'd won with minimal damage to either NERV headquarters or Tokyo-3, the minor damage (and the Commander's general attitude towards his underlings) made them all nervous.

"Connect him, please," Misato said soberly. As soon as the Sound Only screen appeared on the terminal closest to her, she spoke up, "I apologize, sir. Because of my irresponsible judgment, Unit-01 has been damaged. I take full responsibility for this."

Surprisingly, it was Fuyutsuki who spoke first over the com. "No. Destroying Angels is the Evangelions' purpose. It was fortunate that the amount of damage done was minimal."

Commander Ikari spoke up a moment later. "Indeed. Excellent work, Major Katsuragi."

Misato blinked at the unexpected praise. She spoke up a moment later, hardly able to keep the surprise out of her voice. "Thank you, commander."

"And on the subject," Commander Ikari asked, "Is the pilot of Unit-01 there?"

"Um... yes," Shinji said hesitantly, surprised (and a little worried) about what his father might want to say to him.

"I've just read the report," the commander said. "Good work, Shinji."

The wide-eyed Third Child was barely able to respond, "oh...um... yes, sir."

The commander continued on almost as if he was unaware of the effect he'd had on the pilot of Unit-01. "Now Major Katsuragi, I'll leave the handling of the rest of the this in your hands."

"Yes, sir," Misato replied.

As soon as the com line was shut down, Misato turned to the Children and gestured to one of the briefing rooms off to the side of the bridge. The three followed her into the room, then all took seats at the conference table.

"I'm going to be here a while doing paperwork. As always, you're free to stay, but all of your duties have been fulfilled," NERV's Operations Director said, glancing at each Child in turn.

Asuka still seemed just as smug as she'd been before Commander Ikari's transmission, although she kept sneaking glances at Shinji, who looked mind-boggled. It was easy enough for Misato to guess why. For her part, Rei looked slightly confused by something, but Misato wasn't nearly as sure about why.

"Are you going to head home or stick around?" Misato asked, already knowing what each would say.

As expected, Rei spoke up first, "I will go home."

To Misato's surprise, Asuka shook her head. "We're going out for dinner," she said, looking at Rei.

Like their guardian, Shinji was looking at Asuka in confusion. He thought he knew what she meant, but he wasn't sure.

"When do you plan on being home?" Misato asked. "I'll probably be here for the next few hours, so you'll probably get home before me."

"That all depends on Wondergirl," Asuka said with a smirk.

Rei blinked. "I do not understand."

Asuka threw up her hands in exasperation. Shinji sighed. Whether it was from Rei's response or Asuka's seemingly boundless enthusiasm, he couldn't quite tell.

"We're all going out to dinner together," Asuka said firmly. "A team thing, you know?"

Rei stared at her fiery comrade for a moment longer, then nodded. "I understand, Pilot Sohryu."

Misato couldn't help but smile at the unique interplay of her Children. Why Asuka wanted all three of them to eat together was beyond her, but she figured the pilot of Unit-02 had some kind of reason, bizarre or not.

Just as Shinji was getting up to leave, Rei asked Asuka a question. "Why do you wish for me to come to dinner?"

"Well, it's a team-building thing!" Asuka said enthusiastically. "And since you had so many questions earlier, I figure you can ask them while we're eating, instead of while we're getting ready to kill some giant b-movie monster."

Rei nodded, looking more enthusiastic than she had for a while. "Thank you, Pilot Sohryu."

Misato quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of questions?"

"Um... well, they were about different things," Shinji said hesitantly, still thinking about the 'argument' they'd had in the lift.

Rei nodded again. "Yes, Major Katsuragi. I am interested in understanding why Pilot Ikari would be jealous of the Angel's size, and why Pilot Sohryu didn't complain about Pilot Ikari's size."

Misato was staring at the blue-haired girl, mouth agape. Although Rei said it all in a calm tone of voice, Misato could easily read between the lines.

"Shinji... Asuka..." NERV's Operations Director turned to look at her two charges, both of whom had twin blushes and equally nervous smiles on their faces.

"Well," Asuka began, chuckling nervously, "we kind of got to joking around and all, you know?"

Shinji nodded hurriedly. "Yeah. It was all a joke."

Misato sighed. "Don't tell me; I don't want to know... I _really _don't want to know."

"Now let's get going!" Asuka demanded, getting up and striding toward the door. "I'm hungry."

Shinji was out of his seat and behind his fiancée in almost record time, as anxious as possible to get out of that conference room. Rei followed after them, much more calm.

Misato couldn't help but laugh as she watched the pilots leave the room. Although they could be strange at times, the Children were good people, ones that Misato knew she could trust.

With a sigh, the Operations Director got up to leave the room.

It was going to be a long night.

Author's Notes

It's been a while, all right.

I have no real excuse for the lateness of this chapter, except that real life has become quite busy for me. In addition, I also suffer from periodic writer's block, and I'm sure you can guess what effect that has on the story.

In terms of actual story, this is really nothing more than an adaptation of episode 12, with the changes necessary to reflect the events that have thus far taken place within the continuity of A Different View. Also, my free writing time is still tied up in the prequel to this story and several other Eva fanfics I'm currently working on.

I watched episode 12 at least a dozen times during the writing of this chapter, so all the differences between this and that have a purpose. Even if it seems there was a scene I left out or a scene I added in gratuitiously, rest assured, there was a purpose for everything.

I make no promises for when chapter 4 will be up. All I can say is that it will definitely be up... eventually. I also make no promises for the prequel. I expect to be finished with it sometime around chapter 5 or so, but I'm not sure.

Also, I apologize for not taking the time to thank the reviewers. Your feedback is always appreciated, even the reviewer who calls himself 'BAKAMAN.' Despite his insulting manner, I should feel flattered that he thinks reviewing my story is worth his obviously valuable time.

Until next time,

-Keen Drallin

Rough Draft Started - 6/27/04

Rough Draft Finished - 9/12/04

Final Draft Finished – 9/13/04


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